Locked Horns: US, Iran on parallel path on rijiging 2015 nuclear deal

The United States and Iran remain at odds over salvaging an agreement on Iran’s nuclear program originally signed in 2015 between world powers and Iran.

Under former President Donald Trump, the US unilaterally withdrew from the pact in 2018 and resumed sanctions on Iran. Iran countered by accelerating uranium enrichment, leaving the 2015 agreement in limbo.

Since US President Joe Biden took office in January, both sides have worked to restore the deal.

Indirect talks between the two countries began in Vienna, Austria, on Monday, with EU officials and others serving as mediators. The talks occurred for the first time since Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi — an anti-US, hardline conservative — took power in August.

During a trip to Sweden on Thursday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken commented on the talks.

Blinken said the US will judge in the very near future whether Iran actually intends to engage in good faith. He added, “I have to tell you, recent moves, recent rhetoric doesn’t give us a lot of cause for optimism.”

Meanwhile, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian discussed the issue in telephone talks with his Japanese counterpart, Hayashi Yoshimasa, on Thursday.

According to the ministry, Abdollahian said, “We are not optimistic about the will and intention of the US and the European troika.”